



:S 



><" 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

©lap.' ..^... @i3{n|rig|t :^ij. 
Shelf ...../-/..•p 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



';'■ "■■'i"3!'3iiiir'-«o'! 



'■4^>-r^iiili!iiiiilll^i'''';iiiliiliiiM 






rf^'^^- 




y^i^-'' , J 




'IS^Ili/il 



i 






^ 



lliilii.iiiiJAiiiiiii!iiiiiiiilii,jiiili||^^ 



:x.-4<*«^ 



Ir^ 



t-x 



STAR GLEAMS, 



(|)oem0 



ELIZA M. HICKOK. 



REVISED EDITION, 




BOSTON: 

Press of Geo. H. Ellis, 141 Franklin Street. 

1887. 



. H7 



COPYRIGHT, 

BV BLIZA M. HICKOK, 

18S7. 



PREFACE. 



In the literary world, that realm of poesy, refinement, 
and thought, there have been a few whose brilliant, 
powerful words might be compared to sun-rays; whose 
memory is imperishable, like the grand, glowing thoughts 
they have embodied in exalted language. There have 
been others whose soft yet glorious light of intellect, 
like the calm moonlight, has beautified and tranquillized 
earthly scenes, and deeply touched the throbbing heart 
of humanity ; and their lovely memory will live on for 
ages. But lesser lights in the literary firmament have 
been more numerous, like stars, each one differing from 
the others. And starlight is not altogether lost upon 
our darkened earth. Although less brilliant than the 
sunlight, less luminous than the moonlight, attracting 
less notice and praise perhaps, yet the stars, shining 
steadily on, fulfil their mission. They are loveliest in 
the gloomy night. They may lift the gaze and lead the 
heart heavenward, and often calm the troubled soul. As 
one among the many, I send this little volume forth. 
Having been engaged in lecturing, in connection with 
home duties, for a few years past, but little time could 



PREFACE. 

be devoted to the cultivation of the muse. Therefore, 
nearly all the poems are the productions of earlier years, 
some being written at a very early age, usually composed 
while I was engaged in some household occupation, and 
without special thought or effort. I give them as they 
are. Indeed, life has been too stern a discipline, too 
much of a conflict, to admit of my making poetry a 
specialty, or improving very much in that direction by 
practice. Without polish or revision, then, they are 
heart utterances, sometimes bespeaking a wavering faith, 
which — thank God ! — has never been wholly lost, and 
may often be seen rising above the sad complainings of 
human weakness. They are heart-promptings ; and if, 
perchance, some gleam may bring a thought of peace, a 
lift of light, a glimpse of faith, to one storm-tossed, weary 
soul among the great moving tide of humanity, destined 
for another and a higher life than this brief span, the 
author will feel repaid for the work of gathering them 
into book form. 

E. M. H. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

A Poem 9 

Mid Shadows 12 

Heke and There 14 

Lost 15 

Asleep 16 

Sir Roderic's Vision 19 

A Query 22 

Here and Hereafter 24 

Home is Home Forever 26 

Beyond 27 

A Word ii8 

Music 30 

The Heart's Complaint and Reason's Reply . 31 

Unknoavn 34 

Barbara's Vision 35 

The Unseen River 37 

The Haunted Castle 39 

Hope 44 

The World of Thought 45 

Storm Tossed 46 

Highgate, Vt 48 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Unbidden Guest 50 

The Wife's Appeal 54 

Charity 56 

In ]N[emoriam 57 

Illione 59 

H. W. Longfellow 60 

A Gleam 61 

The Water Lily 63 

The Unseen Music 65 

Illione May Hickok 67 

A Treasure in Heaven 68 

Birthday Poem 69 

Immortality 71 

Patience 73 

Sing All is Well 75 

Rest 76 

What of the Night? 78 

The Masks ave avear 80 

Freedom 81 

The Isle of Light 82 

To a Child at Play 84 

Light in Darkness 86 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee" 88 

Blessed Tears 89 

An Ocean Idyl 91 

Darkness 92 

Bright Beyond 94 

There is no Death 95 

God Understands 97 



CONTENTS. 7 

PAGB 

Gethsemane 98 

A Thought 100 

To A Dying Friend 102 

Song of Midnight 104 

Laus Deo , . 107 

All is Well 108 

Victory 109 

YoiCES IN the Storm Ill 

Lock the Chasiber of thy Heart 113 

The Sunshine makes the Shadows 114 

The Patience of Hope 116 

Give to Me my Own 118 

Life's Voyage 119 

The Evidence 120 

By Faith 121 

We shall not pass this Way again .... 122 

What if ? 123 

Nature's Kest 124 

The Cross 125 

The Inner Life 126 



STAR GLEAMS. 



A POEM. 

Sometimes, here, the soul is lifted 
To a height more pure and gifted 
Than to mortals often cometh in the beaten walks 
of life ; 
Losing sight of things terrestrial, 
Gains a glimpse of the celestial. 
And forgets in such an hour all the scenes of 
earthly strife. 

Oh, that such a revelation, 
Such God-given inspiration. 
Might imbue our earthly actions, to our words 
give gentle tone ; 
Bid us strike our trembling lyre 
Yet again, and one note higher. 
As we seek for light 'mid darkness and for gems of 
truth unknown. 

Mortal friend, hath earth been dreary. 
Till thy spirit, lone and weary. 
Drifts in sorrow, almost hopeless, on the stormy 
sea of life ; 



10 STAR GLEAMS. 

And the wild waves round tliee dashing, 
Into wrath thy si)irit lasliing, 
Are to tliee more dark and fearful than all ele- 
mental strife ? 

Till, j^erchance, all joy and gladness 
Seem to merge in gloom and sadness, 
Till thy hopes, the life-tide swelling, one by one m 
grief depart? 
Like a cheering, pleasing story. 
Like a passing glimpse of glory. 
Like a sweet and touching cadence, which with 
joy once thrilled the heart. 

Cheerless seems the way before thee, 
Heavy clouds of darkness o'er thee. 
Shrouding all the glorious sunlight in a deep Cim- 
merian gloom; 
Till thy saddened spirit, yearning 
For a rest, to death is turning. 
Thinking earthly sorrow endeth in the darkly 
silent tomb? 

Are thy joys and hopes fast waning, 
Not a happy gleam remaining. 
Till thy spirit hears with terror life's dark billows' 
fearful roar ? 
Dashing waves of wild contention. 
Spirit fierce of harsh dissension. 
Do they seem to whisper sadly. Earthly bliss is 
thine no more ? 



A rop:M. II 

Know this cloud liatli silver lining: 
Soon, a ray of sunlight, shining, 
Wakes thy weary heart with rapture, to receive its 
cheering ])ower. 
Sorrow's waves then backward rolling, 
Grief and gloom no more controlling, 
Thou may'st see the loving wisdom which hath 
Gfuided thee each hour. 



Ever in this world of sorrow, 
Joy to-day and grief to-morrow. 
Transient gleams of sunshine glimmer all alon 
the earthly shore. 
Thus, we hope not for all brightness. 
Or the spirit nought but lightness. 
But to gain from each stern conflict some new 
power unknoAvn before. 



i=> 



Rightly viewed, each tribulation 
Bringeth us a pure salvation. 
Learns the heart some higher lessons, and the soul 
more lofty lays. 
For the lessons it bestoweth. 
For the wisdom which infloweth, 
Let us thank the All-wise Father, and to him 
ascribe all j^raise. 



12 STAR GLEAMS. 



MID SHADOWS. 



As I sat in lonely musing, 

Solitude and silence choosing, 

Shadows, coming on apace, 

Gathered me in their embrace ; 

Shadows, gathering all around me, 

With their strange, weird power bound me; 

Shadows, i:>assing swiftly on, 

Seemed in sombre shapes to form. 

Till in fancy I beheld 

Loved ones I had known so well. 

Then, on life I sadly pondered. 

And my mind far backward wandered. 

While these silent shadows, creeping, 

Over me their watch were keeping. 

Like a vivid panorama. 

One by one there i)assed before me 

Forms familiar, once loved faces, 

Bringing scenes of distant places. 

One I saw, — a noble youth, — 

On his brow the seal of truth. 

He went out to fight for freedom, 

Wlien the cry for lielp first reached him. 

Like a j^atriot, strong and brave. 

All for the just cause he gave, — 

Loyal heart, so firm and true, 

Even life — he gave that, too. 



MID SHADOWS. 13 

Then, a maiden passing on, 

Just a glimpse, and slie was gone. 

Well I knew her, — lovely, smiling. 

Weary hours with song beguiling. 

Just when life was opening bright, 

She went out from mortal sight. 

Still another, pale and sad : 

Once, I knew her happy, glad : 

Base desertion, cruel scorning, 

Broke her young heart in life's morning. 

All life's joys w^ere at an end : 

Rest was sweet, and death a friend. 

Faded flowers decked her bed. 

Like her own hopes, crushed and dead. 

Then, of shadows, still another. 

One we cherished like a brother ; 

Strong and happy, fond of life, 

Keady for its toil and strife ; 

Stricken down, alas ! how soon ! 

Ere his sun had reached its noon. 

Hard to give a form so brave 

To the cold and lonely grave ! 

Hard, a face so glad and bright 

Xo more blessed our mortal sight ! 

We would fain have kept him longer. 

But the stern decree was stronger. 

Sad I felt, yet glad to meet them ; 

For I know that I shall greet them. 

Some day, when I leave the mortal. 

And pass calmly through Death's portal. 



14 STAR GLEAMS. 



HERE AND THERE. 

Earthly joys are always fleeting, 
Earthly briglitness cannot last ; 

Scenes the fairest, hopes the highest, 
Oft are darkened, soon are passed. 

Smiling flowers make earth-life lovely ; 

But the fairest soonest fade. 
What the morning looks on hrightly 

Evening sees in ruin laid. 



'5' 



3Iusic makes this life enchanting 
As we catch its heavenly tone : 

Strains the sweetest cannot linger, 
And we sorrow when they're gone. 

When our loved ones, all around us. 
Light with joy our happy homes, 

We could be content to tarry ; 
But, alas ! the 2:)arting comes. 

As the dearest ties are severed 

Which have linked our happy band 

Then our weary eyes look upward. 
Seeking for a better land, 

Where this change and blight and parting 
Never shade the soul with gloom. 

Where the music is eternal, 

And the flowers of fadeless bloom. 



LOST. 15 



LOST. 



I've lost a thought ! I've lost a thought 

To me a valued gem. 
A jewel rare, it was more fair 

Than all my diadem. 

'Twas glowing bright with living light : 

It seemed of heavenly birth. 
Then tell me not 'twas but a thought, 

Ye know not half its worth. 

All suddenly it came to me, 

And all my being thrilled : 
A wave sublime from ocean time 

My soul with raj^ture filled. 

I thought to clasp, I sought to grasp, 

And make it all my own, — 
That glowing thought with truth inwrought,- 

Ah me ! but it had flown. 

My heart so glad grew lone and sad, 

And darker seemed the way : 
That meteor light left gloomy night ; ■ 

It came, but would not stay. 

A thought once lost, whate'er its cost. 

May never come again : 
'Mid smiles and tears, through all life's years, 

We seek for it in vain. 



16 STAR GLEAMS. 

I'll wait, I'll wait, till " Death's " mandate 

Shall set my spirit free : 
Perchance again, and brighter then, 

That thousrht will come to me. 



ASLEEP. 

An aged man, at the close of day. 

Sat down by the open door ; 
And thonght went wandering to the past, 

And traced its records o'er. 
The soft breeze lifted his thin gray hair. 

And gently fanned his brow ; 
And he mused, as memory brought to mind 

The scenes of long ago : 

" I will turn the leaves of the unsealed past 

I will scan its pages o'er, 
I will take a last and backward glance 

O'er the way I shall walk no more ; 
For the mists of age seem swept away. 

And m}- mind is clear to-night. 
And the dream-like scenes of the past stand forth 

In a clear and vivid light. 

"O youth ! when the future seemed all of joy, 

And I knew not grief or care ! 
Ere I pass in thought from its pleasant scenes, 

I will pause a moment there. 



ASLEEP. 17 

The home and the friends who loved me then 

Have long since passed away ; 
And the dearest spot on earth to me 

A stranger holds to-day. 

" It is long since I looked upon that spot, 

For I wandered far away ; 
But I close my eyes, and I see it all. 

As clear as the light of day. 
I had loving parents to guide me then, 

I had brothers and sisters, too ; 
But they left me here, and all passed on 

To the world beyond my view. 

" And then, in my manhood's prime, I won 

A gentle and lovely wife : 
Ah, tender and dear are my thoughts of her, 

For she gladdened my heart and life. 
Oh, the world was blank and lonely and drear. 

When she was called from my side ; 
But the hearts that were one through all life's years 

Even death could not divide. 

"Then, my noble boy, the pride of my heart, 

Whose young life was without a stain, 
Went out to fight for the dear old flag. 

And he never came back again. 
Next, his sister fair, so gentle and pure, 

Though dearly loved, could not stay, 
And, drifting out on the chilling tide. 

Was boruv. from my sight away. 



18 STAR GLEAMS. 

" So the loving ones that gladdened my heart 

Have left me one by one ; 
And I only await death's messenger, 

For I feel that my work is done. 
Looking back, I see o'er the way I've come 

An ever-changing scene : 
There are smiles and tears, there are joys and griefs, 

In the years that intervene. 

" Xow, I calmly wait, for I've nothing here, 

JVIy treasures are all above. 
I shall joyfully go with the 'boatman pale ' 

To meet the ones I love." 



The sun went down, and the night-shades fell. 

Till darkness gathered o'er 
The earth ; but he sat in his arm-chair still. 

And he slept, to wake no more. 
They found him there, with a peaceful smile 

On his aged face impressed. 
Then they gently said, ''It is well with him" ; 

And they laid him down to rest. 



SIR RODERIC'S VISION. 19 



SIR RODERIC'S VISION. 

By my own sight, I do not know 
That spirits wander here below. 

Such visions I could never see, 
I tell the story told to me : — 

Within a castle tall and grand, 
The bravest noble of the land 

Lay dying ; and not all the skill 
Of art or Avealth, nor j^ower of will, 

Could stay in course the fatal dart 
Which stilled the throbbings of his heart. 

Beside his rich and stately bed, 

With sorrowing heart and low-bowed head> 

Sir Roderic sat, — his truest friend. 

Who sighed that thus their joys must end j 

That nevermore in converse sweet. 
As in the bygone days, they'd meet. 

The dying man, with dimming eye, 
Essayed to speak his last good-by. 

"Roderic, dear friend," he whispered low, 
"One word to thee before I go. 

" Remember, once we heard it said 
That mortals sometimes view their dead ! 



20 STAR GLEAMS. 

"If that strange story should be true, 
And I have power to visit you, 

" I promise (and thou knowest well 
A promise I will sure fulfil) 

" Before to-morrow's midnight liour 
I'll prove to thee the spirit's i)Ower. 

"In heaven or hades, joy or j)ain. 
Thou shalt behold me once again." 

Sir Roderic pressed the death-cold hand. 
The death-moist brow he gently fanned; 

He shivered with a timid dread, 

But, " Come, I'll look for thee," he said. 



Sir Roderic in his chamber own 
Sat quiet, thoughtful, and alone. 

His lamp burned dimly on its stand : 
The midnight hour was near at hand. 

He half-believed, and doubted too : 
He hoped, yet almost feared to view 

A ghostly form in raiment white, — 
'Twas thus his fancy limned the sight. 

Yet, calling up his courage great. 

He softly whispered, " Come ! I wait." 



silt ItODEKIc's VISION. 21 

Then suddenly he raised his eyes, 
And started with a glad surprise, 

To see his friend before him stand, 
Life-like and real, erect and grand. 

"O noble friend!" he joyful cried, 
"Methought, erewhile, that thou hadst died. 

"How did thy life to thee return, 
When I had left thee yester morn ? 

" Come nearer to me, closer stand ! 
I fain would clasp again thy hand." 

Sir Roderic started from his chair, 

His friend moved backward. "Pause, beware!" 

He said, and shook his head, the while 
O'erspread his face a kindly smile : 

" I'm but a spirit, Roderic dear. 
To keep my promise, I am here. • 

" I've striven hard to come to you. 
And say 'tis true, dear friend, His true^ 

" The after life, to you unknown. 
Is real and useful^ like your own. 

" Remember this ! Now heed it well, 
Nor fear the truth to all to tell. 



22 STAR GLEAMS. 

"I'll try. Perhaps, I'll come anon. 
Now, farewell, Roderic ! " He was gone. 

Sir Roderic stood amazed, yet glad : 
No more liis heart felt lone and sad. 

He doubted not the vision clear, 

But joyed to know liis friend Avas near. 



A QUERY. 

Tell me, ye who most have wandered, 
Found you e'er a place of rest ? 

Could you find a spot in earth-life 
Where the dwellers all were blest? 

Where no sad complaint, no murmurs. 
E'er from mortal lips were heard; 

Where the fountain deep of anger 
In the heart was never stirred ? 

Where man hated not his brother. 

Where pure love and peace could dwell, 

Each would help not crush the other, — 
Way-worn traveller, canst thou tell? 

Tell to mortal, faint and weary, 
Seeking still the earth around, 

Where, in all this cold world dreary. 
May that blissful rest be found ? 



A QUERY. 23 

Is it where the deep-toned murmur 

Of the ever-scuudiug sea, 
Spell-bound, charms the dreamy listener 

With its strange, wild melody? 

Or, perchance, in some far region, 

'Neath more genial, sunny skies, 
Dreamy bliss enwraps the senses. 

And earth seems a Paradise ? 

Or in some sweet, wild seclusion. 

Far from busy care and strife. 
Resting from the wild commotion 

Of the beating waves of life ? 

Or yet, 'mid the wilds of nature. 
And her Avondrous beauties grand, 

Could we seek there and obtain it, — 
That long-sought and sighed-for land ? 

Shall we find such earthly Eden, 

"While Ave wander mortals here. 
Till we pass the narrow bound'ry 

To the unseen world so near ? 



24 STAR GLEAMS. 



HERE AND HEREAFTER. 



There are sweet, green isles 'mid the ocean of life, 

Inviting the soul to repose : 
They are memories fair, they are friends who are 
dear. 

How they lighten life's burdens and woes ! 

Not the friends who surround 'mid the sunshine of 
life, 

With a smile and a sweet, winning tone. 
But, alas ! who forsake in adversity's hour, 

And the sad heart is left all alone. 



Yet the world is not all so cold-hearted and false 

That never a friend, true and tried, 
Will smile at our joys, at our sorrows will weep. 

And love us, whatever betide. 

There are sad, weary hours, there are dark, lonely 
scenes, 

When the clasp of a hand warm and true 
Sends a thrill to the heart and a light to the eye, 

And hope gilds the j^athway anew. 



IIKRK AND IIEKEAFTEK. 25 

Oh, a jewel most rare, and a gift most divine, 
Is friendship, in deed and in thouglit : 

Then, we'll love it and prize it wherever 'tis found, 
And the faithful shall ne'er be forgot. 



And beyond where the veil hides the world of the 
real. 
When life's partings and wanderings are o'er, 
With what joy we shall meet, with what j^ure 
pleasure dwell. 
In that land of the real evermore ! 



We shall know in that world all the noble soul's 
worth. 

And sweetly the ages will glide. 
With no shadoAv to dim, and no sorrow to grieve, 

And no barrier true hearts to divide. 



26 STAR GLEAMS. 



HOME IS HOME FOREVER. 

Home ! there's power in the word, 
Magic power, Ave oft have heard. 
Who that e'er a home hatli known 
Fails to sing, with joyful tone, 
Home is home forever ? 

Home! what memories cluster there. 
Sacred treasures, sweet and fair, — 
Faces loved, but seen no more. 
Forms and voices known of yore ! 
Yes : home is home forever. 

How the beating heart will tlirill. 
How the eyes witli tears will fill. 
When the well-known si)ot we near. 
This of all the world most dear! 
For home is home forever. 

Humble cot or palace hall, 
Gilded room or papered wall. 
Low thatched roof or stately dome. 
Still the heart reveres its liome ; 
And home is h(mie forever. 

Earth may hold more sunny lands, 
Joys may come from stranger hands. 
Stranger hearts may w^elcome kind, 
Brighter spots we oft may find, 
£ut home is home forever ! 



27 



BEYOND. 

The sky grows dark, and the cold winds blow 
The mantle of night falleth here below ; 
And our bright hoj^es fade as the sun departs, 
And a burdening gloom weighs down our hearts. 

Oh, the way is rough, and the way is drear ! 
Oh, the light looks far and the darkness near! * 
And the woes are many, the joys are few, 
While the shadows dim obscure our A'iew. 

Our hands are weary, our feet are torn. 

Our hearts are fainting, our robes wayworn : 

AYe moan in anguish, we sigh, we weej). 

J/ws^ we gain each height through the lowest deep? 

When erst we paused in the sun's glad light. 
We longed to tarry with pleasure bright ; 
But the voice of fate cried, " Nay, press on 
To the j^romised goal which lies beyond ! " 

Then we fix our gaze on a glimmering star 
Which with trembling faith we can view afar ; 
And we struggle on through the valleys deep. 
And up o'er the rugged Calvary's steep. 

And we ask for strength to bear and wait : 
Though toil and sorrow be all our fate. 
Though doubt and darkness around us lie, 
We will /iope for the brightness by and by. 



28 STAR GLEAMS. 



A WORD. 



It was in the crowded city 
I went to the house of prayer : 

I had only tli oughts of the present, 
As I sat in quiet there ; 

Till one word, by a stranger spoken,, 
Touched a link in memory's chain 

By its strange, vibrating power. 
My mind was back again ; 

Like a flash of light electric 
AYas tracing past scenes o'er. 

Till I found, 'mid a host of memories,, 
A scene ten years before. 

I forgot the friends around me, 

I forgot the tones I heard, 
As the thoughts came rushing o'er me, 

Awoke by that single word. 

I was back in my early girlhood, 
'Twas a Sabbath evening, too : 

In a country church far distant. 
There were gathered only a few. 



A WORD. 29 

And I caught again tlie feeling, 

Wlien I lieard that thouglit expressed 

In broken tones, by one who now 
Has gone to her silent rest. 

Ten years, — what changes 

Those passing years have wrought! 

They have given me much of sorrow, 
And- much of joy they have brought. 

Ah ! many of those around me 

Who knew and loved me then 
Well I know that in the earth-life 

I shall never meet again. 

Some have many miles between us, 

But their memory still I keep ; 
And others a mightier barrier, 

For in death's embrace tliey sleep. 

Ten years ! while backward glancing, 

How brief the time appears. 
Which, seen in the dim far future. 

To youth looked long, long years ! 

So youth looks to the future, 

While age scans o'er the past. 
'Tis well if no rememl>rance 

Brinirs sorrow at the last. 



30 STAR GLEAMS. 



MUSIC. 



Music soft, divinely sweet, 
All with harmony replete ! 
Music, low and sweetly thrilling. 
All the soul with rapture tilling ! 
Soothing fall thy strains below, 
On the sad hearts crushed wdth woe. 

How the spirit sinks to rest 

'Neath thy tones, divinely blest. 

Feeling dull despair no longer, 

With each heart-throb growing stronger 

Gains new powers for life's hard fight, 

Striving still for truth and right. 

Stirring music, rich and strong. 
How it bears the soul along ! 
Leading upward, reaching higher 
AVitli a rapturous desire. 
Grander heights in life to gain, — 
Triumphs over grief and pain ! 

Music slow, w^ith sorrow fraught. 
How it stirs each tender thought! 
Mournful music, sadly stealing 
O'er the soul, brings chastened feeling, 
Wakens love and pity kind. 
Chides and melts with grace refined. 



THE heart's complaint AND REASON'S REPLY. 31 

Blessed music ! everywhere, 
It is rich with hoi)e and jjrayer ! 
Soft, or sad, or grandly swelling, 
Or of joyous impulse telling, 
Sweet its strains to mortal ear. 
Ever welcome, always dear. 



THE HEART'S COMPLAINT, AND REASON'S 
REPLY. 

Tempt me not with dreams of pleasure, 

All my hopes of bliss are past : 
I have not an earthly treasure, 

l^ot a friend that long will last. 
If it be the will of heaven 

That dark hours of gloom are mine. 
If my life of joy be riven, 

Why should I at this repine? 

Yet 'tis hard in life's fair morning. 

When the hopes of youth were high, 
Thus, instead of glory's dawning. 

For the rest of death to sigh. 
Tell me not 'tis vain forebodings : 

Not one single ray of light 
Pierces through the dread surroundings, 

Dark as hours of darkest night. 



Clouds of sable hue appalling 
O'er the joyous sunlight roll, 



32 STAR GLEAMS. 

And Cimmerian darkness falling 
Shrouds my weary, waiting sonl. 

Deeply wrought, this work of sorrow 
Fills with saddest grief my mind. 

Till from hope I cannot borrow, 
Not a faithful friend can find. 

What an empty word is friendship! 

It can bear no mighty test, 
Shrinks from verdicts false and wicked. 

Life is cruel at the best. 
But the tortured heart is breaking, 

With a mighty grief oppressed : 
In the sleep that knows no waking. 

It shall find its sweetest rest. 

reason's keply. 

Fainting heart, hast thou no courage 

Thus to meet the storms of life ? 
Does not opposition nerve thee 

With new ardor for the strife? 
What ! wilt thou in meek submission 

To thy foes so kindly yield ? 
When the conflict rages fiercest. 

Wilt thou tamely leave the field ? 

Wilt thou be a coward, driven, 

Though that heart be faint with pain ? 

If the storm should now o'erwhelm thee, 
Thou mayst never rise again. 



THE heart's complaint AND KEASON's KEPLY. 33 

Canst thou calmly speak of dying, 

For the grave in sorrow sigh ? 
Better live and toil and suffer, 

'Tis more nohle than to die. 

Ah! methmks thou must remember, 

Ere thou wast so lone and sad. 
How thy bright hopes of the future 

All thy pathway made so glad; 
And thou canst not have forgjotten. 

In thy kinder, gentler mood. 
How that heart, with better impulse. 

Longed to work for others' good. 

Shall the dark waves of oblivion 

Bury in their depths thy name ? 
Wouldst thou be thus soon forcrotten 

o 

By thy foes, and friends the same ? 
Oh, do not despair though darkness 

Shroud in gloom the glorious day : 
If thou mayst not view the sunshine, 

Try to catch a glimmering ray. 

Should thy pathway grow still darker, 

Foes be countless, friends be none, 
While thou hast a friend in heaven, 

Never say thou'rt all alone. 
Now arm well for opposition ; 

Let thy foes attack in vain ; 
Stand erect; undaunted meet them; 

Thus shalt thou the victory gain. 



34: STAR GLEAMS. 



UNKNOWN. 

There are unknown depths in the human soul, 
And over them wastes of waters roll ; 
There are wrecks untold, all covered o'er, 
And vanished dreams that will come no more, 

And gems of thought and memories fair. 
And once loved treasures, lie buried there, — 
Buried so deep 'neath the voiceless waves 
That mortal eye cannot trace their graves. 

Low down where they lie they are guarded well. 
Of their secret presence none can tell ; 
For eyes may brighten and lips may smile. 
And the heart with anguish be torn the while. 

We little dream, when the mask is worn 
O'er a heart by suffering and conflict torn. 
Of its silent strength ; for who shall know 
The secret depths of an untold woe ? 

Ah ! many the burden silently bear, 
With the sigh repressed and the voiceless prayer, 
And murmur not through the lonely night, 
But hope and wait for the morning light. 

Will it ever come ? Shall we ever know 
Why the way was so dark and rough below ? 
In the world beyond, Avliere the way grows clear, 
Will it bricjhter be for the darkness here ? 



Barbara's vision. 35 



BARBARA'S VISION. 



Mournfully sounds the wind to-night, 

Drearily sobs the rain, 
Seeming to tell of hopes once bright, 

Never to come again. 

Sitting alone by her fireside now, 

Sadly recalling the past, 
Barbara, old and worn and gray, 

Near to the haven at last. 

Once there Avere sounds of joyous mirth 

Crowning each busy day ; 
Bright faces gladdened her loving heart, 

Now they have all gone away. 

Children there were so merry and glad, 

Making the long days brief; 
Claiming a smile for each pleasure they had, 

A kind word for every grief. 

Maidens and youths, the fairest and best. 

Dear to the mother's sight : 
None of them all are left to her now, 

Sitting alone to-night. 

Barbara thinks of them all with tears, 

A tenderness mournfully sad ; 
Thinks of her happiness all in the past. 

Till the future hath nothing glad. 



36 STAR GLEAMS. 

Suddenly breaks a flood of light 

Into the lonely room, 
Filling it full of a radiance bright, 

Chasing away the gloom ; 

Bringing a strange and startled light 

Into her dim, old eyes ; 
Changing at last to a certain joy 

And a look of glad surprise. 

For in this new and wonderful light 

A beautiful scene appears : 
Faces and forms are gathering round, 

Just like the by-gone years. 

Here are the loved ones the grave had claimed, 

Flitting about at will ; 
Softly caressing her wrinkled brow. 

Loving and lovely still. 

"Mother," they say, " you're no more alone. 

Know this sweet vision is true : 
Only a little while longer on earth, 

Then we are coming for you. 

"For, mother, beyond ' this vale of tears,' 

We have a home for you, 
The sweetest rest from toil-marked years, 

'Mid pleasures pure and true." 



THE UNSEEN RIVER. 37 

Then, with their lingering, loving look. 

Slowly they vanished away, 
Leaving the light of their presence still, 

A cheering and blessed ray. 

Barbara thanked the Father then 

For a truth so sweet to know, 
Nevermore leaving her sad and alone. 

In her journey brief below. 

Joyfully now her days will glide. 

Cheered by a vision so fair. 
Beautiful home beyond the tide, 

Barbara 's almost there. 



THE UNSEEN RIVER. 

They say, when the silver cord is loosed. 

And the spirit takes its flight, 
That a river, dark, must then be crossed. 

Ere it reaches the realms of light. 

They tell us the river of Death is wide, 
And its waters are chilling and deep ; 

When the soul drifts out on its unseen tide. 
The loving ones sadly weep. 

And we never can trace with mortal eye 
The way that the spirit has gone ; 

Though we seek and question, and vainly try 
For a glimpse of the world beyond. 



38 STAR GLEAMS. 

Does the soul sink down 'neath a whelming flood, 

Or float over waters bright ? 
Does it pant and struggle to reach the shore, 

Or skim o'er the surface light? 

So we fearfully question, and sadly think, 

When our dear ones pass away ; 
And we mourn in our bitter loneliness, 

For we fain would bid them stay. 

But there is a radiant faith, sublime. 

Which knows no fear, no gloom, 
But sees the dawn of a brighter life 

Beyond an earthly tomb. 

By the glowing gleam of its living light, 

The way, so dark, grows clear ; 
And the mythical river is known no more, 

For the unseen world is near. 



THE HAUNTED CASTLE. 39 



THE HAUNTED CASTLE. 

Do YOU see, in tlie picture j^ainted there, 
A ruined castle, once grand and fair. 

And a flowing river, calm and deep. 
At the foot of a high and craggy steep? 

Those walls, with ivy overgrown, 
Once fair and polished marble shone ; 

And the briery hillside, now untrod. 
Had once a patliway, smooth and broad. 

I could sing a song of that castle tall, 
Now but a broken, crumbling wall ; 

Of that river and rock-bound cliff so higli,— 
A mournful song of the years gone by. 

Tlie castle was owned by Armand dc Vrie, 
And that is tlie beautiful Rhine you see. 

De Vrie was a noble, stern and proud, — 
A liaughty spirit that seldom bowed. 

Hasty and ardent, born to control. 
His will tlic law that governed his soul. 

The Lady Annie was bright and fair. 
With a snowy brow and golden hair ; 

With a voice of melody rare and low. 
And a heart attuned to its musical flow; 



40 STAR GLEAMS. 

With the richest gifts of a noble mind. 
But, alas ! alas ! fair Annie was blind. 

Never for her the sunlight shone, 
Kever earth's beauties had slie knoAvm. 

And never that life was sweet, dreamed she, 
Till she met and loved Armand de Yrie. 

For, with his passionate soul and tone, 
He sought to make the fair singer his own. 

" Never," he said to each doubting fear, 
"Never could Annie be less dear. 

"Never, no, never a burden seem, 
She who Avas fair as a poet's dream." 

And she, ah ! how could she answer no. 
When with trusting heart she loved him so? 

Erelong they stood by the blue Rhine's tide, 
And Lady Annie was Armand's bride. 

Then, glad and bright went the swift years by, 
Life a sweet dream 'neath a roseate sky. 

Armand was gentle and loving the same, 
Till the Lady Clare to the castle came, — 

Clare, with her starry, flashing eyes. 
That spoke a volume of mute surprise 

At the fair and dainty sightless bride, 

AVho walked by the handsome Armand's side. 



THE HAUNTED CASTLE. 41 

The while in her cruel, selfish soul, 
A wicked love for him took control. 

With all her wondrous beauty and art, 
She wove her spell around Armand's heart ; 

And, alas ! he wearied of Annie fair, 
And sought for the love of Lady Clare. 

One night, down the path, to the cliff below, 
Came Lady Annie, with footstep slow. 

Shimmered the moonlight through the trees. 
Soft and balmy the summer breeze. 

Gently she called for her loved Armand, 

For she missed the touch of his guiding hand. 

Alas ! that she sought for him that night, 
Who had never failed to guide her aright. 

For deep in his heart was a fiendish thought, 
Which the evil spirit of Clare had brought. 

" Come this way, my Annie, your Armand is here." 
With a smile on her face, and never a fear, 

Her sweet voice singing in joyful tone. 
Her hand outstretched to clasp his own, 

Onward she came, and passed him hy^ 
Straight on to the brink of the cliff so high. 

Only one little stifled cry. 

Borne on the night winds faintly by, 



42 STAR GLEAMS. 

A gleam of the snowy robe she wore, 
And Lady Annie was seen no more. 

With a gasping cry, and a moan, " Too late ! 
Armand lied back through the castle gate, — 

Fled swift to his room, for he could not bear 
To meet the heartless, triumphant Clare. 

But never more was Armand de Vrie 
To know an hour from torture free. 

Only remorse and a wild unrest, 
Only a sense of his guilt oppressed. 

And now, to his restless couch at night. 
Came Lady Annie, in dripping white. 



And the frightened Clare had seen her, too. 
At the castle gate when she glided through, 



Silent and swift o'er the marble floor. 
Through hall and chamber, to Armand's door. 

And the wretched Clare, with pallid brow. 
Had no baneful power o'er Armand now. 

For ever, as soon as the night-shades fell, 
Came the spirit-form they knew so well. 

Moonlight or darkness, tempest or fair, 
Palo Lady Annie was always there. 

Armand grew pallid, his wild eyes dim. 
He heard stransfe voices that called to him. 



THE HAUNTED CASTLE. 43 

Till once, when tlie moon's rays, soft and bright, 
Fell just like that other fatal night, 

With a strange, glad light in his weary eye, 
A sudden start and a thrilling cry, 

" Annie, my darling, I come at last ! 
O Annie, forgive my terrible past!" 

Madly he dashed down the fair hillside, 
And quickly j^lunged 'neath the flowing tide. 

No hand could stay him, no power save, — 
He had found his rest in Annie's grave. 

Never was happiness more for Clare, 
Only remorse and a dark despair. 

Till a chilly morn, when they found her dead : 
"Died of a broken heart," they said. 

Then the people called the castle drear 
Haunted for many and many a year. 

Noble and peasant, in wild alarm, 

Saw Annie and Armand walk arm in arm. 

Frightened, each timid one hastened away ; 
And the castle was left alone to decay. 

But years have passed, and they come no more 
To mourn and wander on mortal shore. 

Out of earth's shadows, each soul has progressed : 
Annie and Armand have found their rest. 



44 STAR GLEAMS. 



HOPE. 

If, in all our mortal wanderings, 
Cruel seems the hand of fate. 

We shall find a light 'mid darkness. 
If we can but hope and wait. 

All the stormy tides of passion. 
All the bitterness of grief, 

All of human woe and sorrow. 
Find in hope a sweet relief. 

"When the burdens fall the heaviest. 
Every ray of sunlight gone, 

Hope still whispers " compensation '' 
In the life that waits beyond. 



THE WORLD OF THOUGHT. 45 



THE WORLD OF THOUGHT. 

To THE realms of happy fancy, 

Soul, arise and soar away ; 
For I'm weary of the discord 

And the sorrows round my way. 

In its all-enchanting bowers 
Let me wander glad and free ! 

For the rest, so sweet though transient, 
Care and toil shall lighter be. 

Let its never-fading flowers 
Bind my sad and aching brow : 

It may teach my heart true courage 
And to Fate's decree to bow. 

I'll forget the weight of sorrow, 

I'll forget the sin and woe 
Which our lovely earth o'ershadows. 

Casting gloom on all below. 

I'll forget that life is changeful. 
And its shadows cold and drear ; 

I'll forget the saddening memories 
Which so often haunt me here. 

I will cast aside all darkness. 

All of care shall be forgot ; 
While my happy spirit lingers 

In the fairy land of thought. 



46 STAR GLEAMS. 



STORM TOSSEB. 

Out in the darkness of midnight, 

O mariner, bold and brave. 
With a tempest wild around thee, 

What Avaits but a watery grave ? 

Far, far from the welcome shore-line 
Or the sweet green isles of earth ; 

Afar from the friends who love thee, 
And thy j^eaceful land of birth, — 

The sullen roar of the surges, 
The breakers' dash and moan : 

The wind-swept waves of ocean 
Hold terror in each tone. 

There are mortal fear and horror 
On thy whitening lip and cheek ; 

And that dumb despair, so silent. 

Makes thy strong arm strangely weak. 

O mariner catch the spirit 

Of Him v/ho stilled the sea. 
And walked in his stately calmness 

On turbulent Galilee. 



STORM TOSSED. 47 

Reach out to the loving Father, 
Cling now to his guiding hand : 

Through the rush and roar and darkness 
Heed only his wise command. 

Far over the dreary waters 

Rings out the clarion call : 
Oh, trust in God, brave sailor ! 

He guideth, watcheth all. 

There is more than mortal terror 

In the troubled soul's alarm ; 
There is more than mortal anguish 

In its prayer for rest and calm. 

There are untold depth and power 

In its striving to be still ; 
Yet the Father hears its pleading, 

And answereth — as he will. 



48 STAR GLEAMS. 



HIGHGATE, VT. 



Oh, Nature hath some lovely spots 
For man's enjoyment ever, 
With mountains high and valleys deep 
And many a sparkling river. 
None fairer yet I've chanced to see 
Than this which prompts my rhyming, 
While rustling leaves and Avater's chant 
Lend me their happy chiming. 

And whatsoever change await, 

I doubt not I'll remember 

This sunny day at fair Highgate, 

In many-hued September. 

I stand upon a noble hill. 

Broad, lofty, and commanding; 

While dark and dense on either hand 

Are forest sweeps expanding. 

And distant far, in hazy blue, 
The Adirondacks, rising, 
Bound the horizon to my view. 
As all of breadth comprising. 
No matter if with busy life 
The world beyond is teeming. 
Let Fancy rest awhile, content 
To change the real for seeming. 



HIGIIGATE, VT. 49 

As if to one rapt soul the world 
Were by those mountains bounded ; 
And here sufficient change and rest, 
By Nature's charms surrounded. 
And far below my wooded throne 
Lies fair Missisquoi River : 
One sand-bar checks its eager course, 
Then on, still on forever. 

O'er rugged ledges, old and gray, 
It reckless leaps and dashes. 
Then in and out and far away 
Beneath the sunlight flashes. 
No finer music ever stirred 
The soul to deeper feeling. 
No grander chant I ever heard 
From lofty organ pealing. 

Than this from water's rush and surge. 
And winds through tall trees sweepmg, 
"Whose branches wave like friendly hands, 
Their guard o'er all things keeping. 
Sweet forest boughs of spruce and fir. 
Hemlock and pine, so healing. 
To breathe your air is elixir, 
The while God's love revealing. 

You bid us w^orship him alone. 
Whose gifts, so wisely measured, 
Prove health and peace and truest joy, 
If rightly held and treasured. 



50 STAR GLEAMS. 

O Nature, in thy orracious mood, 
What gifts thou hast for mortals! 
What lessons rich, when understood, 
Are garnered in thy portals ! 



THE UNBIDDEN GUEST. 

It was night at the grand old castle, . 

And mirth and revelry there : 
There were songs and laughter and dancing, 

There were brave and noble and fair. 

The maid, Avith the joyous gleaming 
Of hope, that brightens the eye 

Ere the shadow falls on the sunlight, 
And sorrow has passed her by. 

The warrior, young and noble, 

In the battle-field of life, — 
With a soul athirst for honor. 

And a will to win in the strife. 

The old, with a sweet remembrance 
Of the days when thej Avere young, 

Of the festive scenes they gladdened. 
And the songs they gayly simg. 



THE UNBIDDEN GUEST. 51 

There was every costly viand 

On the ample table spread ; 
And, alas ! that I must say it, 

The wine there sparkled red. 

But one among the maidens, 

With an anxious, troubled eye, 
As she watched the merry drinkers 

Pass the wine-cup giyly by, 

Grew pale with a silent anguish. 

As a young man took his place. 
And drained the ruby liquid. 

With a flushed and eager face. 

For she loved the handsome noble. 
To him she had pledged her hand, 

And before another week had passed 
By his side at the altar would stand. 

Again and again he had promised 

The lady he loved so well 
That never again should the siren 

Around him cast her spell. 

But ever the demon conquered, 

Where the wine-cuj) was freely passed; 

And ever each scene, in repentance, 
He resolved should be his last. 



52 STAR GLEAMS. 

But now, while mirth was highest, 
And song and Laughter grew loud, 

A shadowy messenger entered, 

And mixed with the thoughtless crowd. 

He fixed his gaze on the maiden, 

And near and nearer drew; 
While her face took an added pallor, 

And her eyes more heavenly grew. 

One moment she looked at her loved one. 
While her hand pressed her aching heart ; 

For the shadowy j^hantom had pierced it 
With a fatal, unerring dart. 

Who thought that a guest unbidden 
Would come at the midnight hour. 

And chill each heart with terror 
By his silent, fearful power ? 

What an awful hush came o'er them ! 

The power of an unseen hand ; 
And the wine no more was tasted 

By that awe-struck, silent band. 

But the sorrow-stricken lover 

Scanned those peaceful features o'er, 

And the brimming glass was shivered 
On the polished marble floor. 



THE UNBIDDEN GUEST. 53 

" O God ! " he cried in his anguish, 

" ' Tis her life-blood that I see ! 
I'd have given life for my darling, 

But she has died for me. 

" And, oh, in the bitter anguish 

Which I must suffer alone, 
I swear by the love I bore her, 

By heaven's immortal throne, — 

" That never again the poisoned drink — 
Accursed! so accursed to me now! — 

Shall pass my lips, or shall stain my soul. 
Or leave its shade on my brow. 

"By the last fond look she gave me, 

A look that seemed a prayer, 
I will seek to gain high heaven, — 

I shall meet my loved one there." 

And the temperance cause now boasteth 

No nobler champion than he : 
He has broken the chains that bound him, 

And stands in his manhood free. 

Oh, sad ! how sad was the power 

That broke the fatal spell ! 
Yet methinks her spirit whispers, 

" Mourn not, for it was well." 



54 STAR GLEAMS. 



THE WIFE'S APPEAL. 

Oh, proffer not the sparkling wine 
To him whose fate is linked with mine ; 
Tempt not the soul with noble power 
To leave the right, in sin's dark hour ! 

The wine may glitter clear and bright, 
Where wealth and beauty shine to-night; 
Where mirth and music charm the hour, 
With soft and sweet bewitching power; 
Where walls are hung with pictures rare 
'Mid marble statues gleaming fair; 
Where softest carpets yield no sound. 
With lofty mirrors all around ; 
With everything, that wealth and art 
Can give, to satisfy the heart. 
Think you no serpent lingers there. 
The one, black taint in Eden fair? 
Though only wine of costliest brand. 
From choicest vintage of our land. 
Is passed, with merry jest and smile. 
And careless, idle words the while, — 
In gilded haunts, the same deep sin 
As in the lowest drunkard's den : 
Because the end no man can see. 
And none foretell where it may be. 



THE wife's appeal. 55 

Ye cannot know tlie Gjrief it brings, 

Tlie bitter woe its shadow flings 

O'er happy homes and joyous hearts; 

The sting of its envenomed darts. 

Where hopes were bright and prospects fair, 

It bringeth gloom and dull despair. 

Then speak not of a "friendly glass," 

traitorous friend, who dares to ask 
Or seeks to cause his brother's fall, 
Not with the fiery alcohol 

(Leave that for others more debased), 
But nectarous wine of sweetest taste. 
Ah, there the hidden serpent lies ! 
And there the hope of manhood dies. 

1 could not see that brow defiled. 
The face that ever on me smiled, 

The voice that speaks in love's low tone, 
Cold, harsh, and even cruel grown • 
No, rather let the cold grave hide 
That manly form, my joy, my pride. 
To death's mandate, my heart can yield, 
Though lonely anguish it may feel. 



But by each aspiration pure. 
By every joy wliich shall endure. 
By every thought to virtue given. 
By my eternal hope of heaven. 
Oh, spare the bitter curse of life ! 
I could not live a drunkard's wife. 



56 STAR GLEAMS. 



CHARITY, 

Go MAN to thy brother, once noble and proud, 
Now in sin's dark pollution and misery bowed. 
Go speak to him kindly, though he grovel in dust : 
The angels will smile o'er an action so just. 

Thy hand may unloosen the fetters that bind, 
Thy words may bring light to his sin-clouded mind : 
There's much to be done in this vast world of ours. 
Then remember, O man, thou hast God-given powers^ 

Go, sister, and speak to that sad, erring one. 
If repentant, forget all the wrong she has done. 
Regard not her presence with silent disdain. 
When a kind word may save her from sinning again. 

'Tis but little to give, it is easily spoken, 

And may soothe a heart by grief almost broken. 

Remember that charity suffereth long: 

Then judge not, condemn not, lest ye may be wrong. 



MEMORIAL POEMS. 



IN MEMORIAM. 

Our loved mother, Mrs. Mary F. Booker, went liome^ 
August 17, 1873, after five years of weary suffering, pa- 
tiently borne, induced by a severe paralytic shock. 

Out from the darkness of suffering and sorrow, 

Over the mythical, waveless sea, 
Born into radiant sunlight eternal, 

Mother, dear mother, at last thou art free. 

Well, in that hour which summoned thy spirit. 
Fettered and worn, from its mortal of pain, 

ISTot for one moment could hearts true and loving 
Wish thee to linger, or suffer again. 

Yet there is sadness — such desolate sadness! — 
Everywhere mother's sweet face used to be ; 

Yet there are moments we cry, in our anguish, 
" Mother, dear mother, oh, come back to me ! " 



58 STAR GLEAMS. 

Oh, it was hard beyond every expression 

To see that dear life drift away; 
Eves that had smiled on us closing forever, 

Hands that caressed us grow motionless clay. 

Now, the years seem to pass but as moments, 
While our childhood we sadly trace o'er ; 

And each proof of her love and devotion 
We remember as never before. 

O years by a mother's love guarded ! 

O hours too happy to last! 
The bitter tears flow, darling mother, 

As memory j^ictures the past. 

For each friend that we lose, still another 
Some balm to our grief may impart : 

We can never but once have a mother, — 
Oh, sacred her place in each heart ! 

We have tried to be calm in our sorrow ; 
We have striven to bow to "His will": 
Yet beyond, in the home of immortals. 

We cling to thee, long for thee still. 

« 

Not to return to the mortal, dear mother, 
Not to thy toiling and anguish and pain, 

Not to the burden now cast off forever, — 
Oh, not to suffering earth-life again ! 



MEMORIAL POEMS. 59 

But, from the realm of thy spirit's glad freedom, 
Oh for some message of love as of yore ! 

Oh for a whispered word, telling thy presence 
Guiding us, guarding us, just as before. 

Come in the morning, at noon-tide or even ; 

Come when the night-shades fall darkly below; 
Come when thou wilt, only come, darling mother: 

Though unseen, thy presence we surely shall know. 

Then shall we take up life's burdens with courage, 

Faithfully labor and patiently wait, 
Cheered through all darkness by this blest assurance : 

Mother will meet us at yon golden gate. 



ILLIONE. 

O blessed nighty thrice blessed sleep^ 

"When my vanished darling comes to me : 

Then^ my heavy eyes no longer ivecp, 
And my aching heart from imin is free. 

Dei Gratia. 
October, 1876. 



60 STAR GLEAMS. 



H. W. LONGFELLOW. 

Sweetly as sinks the sun 

In golden west, 
So sank our honored one 

Calmly to rest. 

Home of the poet-soul 

Tenantless now ; 
Still we, in reverence, 

O'er thy dust bow. 

Like sweetest melody 
His songs linger yet. 

Words so familiar grown 
Who can forget ? 

Poet no more than friend, 
Teacher of life sublime, 

Thy name be honored still 
Through coming time. 



A GLEAM. 61 



A GLEAM. 



Out of my idle dreaming, 

After the storm swept by, 
Born of my fancy, seeming. 

Soft and light as a sigh, 
Flashing in rainbow splendor. 

Glowing with living flame. 
Lighting the way before me, — 

A thought of beauty came. 

Doubting and fearing phantoms, 

Shapes of evil and dread. 
Discord and gloom and sorrow, — • 

All from its glory fled. 
Lifting my wondering spirit 

To heights unknown before. 
It gleamed through mist and darkness, 

Like light from an open door. 

What were the care and burdens. 

The weariness and pain, 
The restless, fevered longings. 

The cruel greed of gain ? 
What were the foolish strivings 

Of this little world of ours. 
In the new and deep revealing 

Of conscious, immortal powers ? 



STAR GLEAMS. 

How could I ever murmur, 

How could my soul complain, 
Or doubt, or question that wisdom 

Will make life's purpose plain? 
How could a thought of failing 

Along God's upward way 
Cause brain or hand to falter, 

For briefest j^ause to stay ? 

For all life's bitter fragments 

That so distressed the soul 
Were lost in greater meaning, — 

A vast and perfect whole. 
Could I in mortal language 

Tell of a thought so fair ? 
Nay ; for my feeble learning 

Hath never words so rare. 

But somewhere amid the glory 

Waiting for you and me. 
Whence came that vision tender 

Over the outward sea, 
There will be language fitting 

Thoughts that are pinioned here ; 
For what God wills we shall be 

"Doth not as yet appear." 



THE WATER LILT. 63 



THE WATER LILY. 

O LILT pure and cool and sweet, 

Emblem of love divine, 
What strange, unseen, dark forces meet, 

To bid thy beauty shine ! 

Far in the depths of mire and clay 

Thy clinging root is found, 
Uncheered by single sunny ray. 

Where dreaded things abound. 

Then uj) from darkness into light. 
Through long and lonely hours ; 

And, lo ! upon the waters bright 

There smiles the " queen of flowers." 

Oh, sad and slow, through tears and pain, 
We struggle up to higher life. 

Through conflicts oft and seeming vain, 
'Mid darkness, toil, and strife. 

We wander long in trying deeps 

'Mid cruel, dreaded things, 
Where poison lurks and danger sleeps, 

But instant wakes and springs. 



64 STAK GLEAMS. 

If, in one weak, unguarded hour, 
We lose our faith and trust. 

Then evil hosts, with sudden power, 
Do battle with the just. 

But God's unerring law is here. 

His love is over all ; 
Beyond the clouds, the sun is clear. 

The dews of mercy fall. 

If, like the lilj, we are true 

To all the light we see. 
We shall as surely rise to view 

His sunshine full and free. 

The sacrifice and seeming loss. 
The vexing doubts and fears. 

Will vanish like the worthless dross, 
Forgotten with the years. 

Sweet lily, by thy emblems three, — 
The green, the white, the gold, — 

Teach living hope, teach purity 
And crown of wealth untold. 



THE UNSEEN MUSIC. 65 



THE UNSEEN MUSIC. 

High above the noisy conflict 
And the stormy tides of life, 

Far beyond the vexing clamor 
And the ceaseless, wearing strife, 

Sounds a strain of rare sweet music, 
Kever born on earthly shore; 

Thrilling souls all down the ages, 
Echoing still for evermore. 

Valiant few who lead the many, 
Catch the glad notes from afar ; 

While the multitudes who follow 
Only hear the din of war. 

Hero souls, who in the vanguard. 
Firmly standing for the right. 

To themselves and God are loyal, 
Hear it ever through the night. 

And behold afar the dawning 
Of a new and brighter day ; 

Then, with hopeful inspiration, 
Toiling onward, lead the way. 



STAR GLEAMS. 

Martyr souls have heard it plainly, 

Over all the wrath and woe, 
And with lofty courage suffered 

Even unto death below. 

Sweetest in the night of sorrow, 
Dearest in the hours of 23ain, 

Purest in the hearts that suffer, 
This triumphant, heavenly strain. 

Souls who catch its deepest meaning 
Know that they are called of God, 

Know that they must walk the pathway 
Which the " man of sorrows " trod. 

Yet they do not faint nor falter : 
Strong and deathless, grandly free. 

To their vision, in life's archway, 
Time blends with eternity. 



ILLIONE MAY HICKOK. 67 



ILLIONE MAY HICKOK. 

In the gloom of night, a precious bark 

Went sailing out to sea. 
It carried my heart, — my aching heart, — 

As I watched it tearfully. 

In vain I sought, with eager hands. 

To keep it by my side. 
The boatman heeded his King's commands, 

And bore it down the tide. 

I stood, all dumb, on the silent strand 

That bounds the waveless sea, 
Till the gentle touch of the Master hand 

Awoke and set me free. 

I know, in God's own home somewhere, 

That little bark is fast. 
In one of his many mansions fair, 

I shall find my own at last. 

'Mid the happy throng, now singing clear 

In a harmony divine, 
Of the voices sweet, one seems most dear ; 

For one of the angels is mine. 



68 STAR GLEAMS. 



A TREASURE IN HEAVEN. 



Like a little, broken lily, 
Mother's silent darling lies ; 

Still the baby hands so dimpled ; 

Closed to earth the sweet, blue eyes. 

Innocent and pure and lovely; 

Only lent a little while, 
Just to make us think of heaven. 

Just to learn to love and smile. 

Earthly winds too rude are blowing. 
Heaven's skies are always fair : 

Loving angel friends, dear parents. 
Safely guard your treasure there. 

Never pain nor blight nor sorrow. 
Such as comes on mortal shore, 

Reacheth to that home eternal, 
Where he liveth evermore. 

Though you miss the baby presence. 
And the sweet face, loved so well. 

Yet ngain you'll surely meet him, 
Where the brio-ht immortals dwell. 



BIRTHDAY POEM. 



BIRTHDAY POEM. 



To my honored friend, Mrs. Kuggles, written at her re- 
quest on her seventieth birthday. She has since gone to 
her reward. 

Many years thou hast passed on the voyage of life, 
With its sunshine and shadows, its cahnness and 

strife ; 
With its rare songs of gladness, and low notes of 

pain ; 
And the echo of loved voices, sweet in refrain. 



There were changes and sorrows in that shadowy 

past ; 
There were hours too bright and too happy to last ; 
There are memories sacred and hallowed by love ; 
There are severed ties waiting reunion above. 



There are some stranded hopes on that past dream- 
like shore ; 

There are some vanished dreams that will come 
nevermore ; 

There are some views so lovely, of joys that have 
been. 

That remembrance is pleasure, though years inter- 
vene. 



70 STAR GLEAMS. 

Threescore and ten ! What a record to read ! 
What a treasure of memories in thought, word, and 

deed. 
Busy years they have been, well imj^roved in their 

'flight, 
Inwrought with kind words, and wise counsel for 

right. 

Thou hast walked 'mid life's shadows with faith 

clear and bright, 
With a purpose unchanging, a voice strong for 

right. 
Never weary, nor faltering, though long seemed 

the way ; 
Never doubting, in darkness, the dawn of the day. 



For all beauty and richness, in love, thou hast 

wrought ; 
For all lessons of wisdom thy life daily taught ; 
For all goodness and mercy that make up thy 

l)ast,— 
Sweetest rest, purest joy, shall be thine at the last. 



In that realm o'er the tide where thy loved spirits 

wait 
To welcome thee home, at the fair golden gate, 
Thy reward for earth's toiling in peace shall abound, 
And thy life that's immortal with glory be crowned. 



IMMORTALITY. .71 



IMMORTALITY. 



Spirit, thy race is run, 

Thou near'st the shore ; 
Thine earthly work is done, 

Thy conflicts o'er. 
Spirit, no care or pain 

Crosseth thee now, — 
Never shall mar again 

This pale, still brow. 

No more life's surges beat 

On mortal shore ; 
No more dark tempests meet 

All, all is o'er. 
Spirit, in realms afar 

Thou hast found rest : 
All strife and suffering o'er, 

Thou must be blest. 

Sj^irit, thine earthly one 

Loved thee so well. 
This heart its loneliness 

Never can tell. 
Spirit, my requiem 

Reacheth thee not : 
Sadly, my heart inquires, 

Am I forgot? 



72 STAR GLEAMS. 

Hark ! for soft tones I hear, 

Low, and so sweet ! 
Yet they are strangely near ; 

Now, they repeat : 
" O earth one, I loved thee 

Never as now ! 
Oft, oft I caress thee, 

Kiss thy sad brow. 

" I only cast aside 

Mortal that even : 
I crossed no flowing tide, 

Reached no far heaven. 
Still, thou wilt draw me near 

By thy love given ; 
And where thou art, dear, 

There is my heaven. 

" So thy sad requiem 

Was not in vain : 
Spirit, who loves thee well, 

Cometh again. 
Now banish all thy gloom, 

Like shades of night ; 
Think not of lonely tomb. 

All is so bright. 

" No shades in summer-land. 
No griefs divide : 

Those who have truly loved 
Still blest abide. 



PATIENCE. 7^ 

Soon, I shall meet thee, dear, 

Just ere life's even ; 
Then, when I greet thee here, 

This will be heaven." 



PATIENCE. 

Life is a a struggle so bitter and hard, 
With sentinel Poverty ever on guard, 
Never relaxing his terrible hold, 
Never relenting to feeble or old ! 

Hands grow so weary with toiling for naught ; 
Hearts grow heavy with grief burdens fraught^ 
Lining fair brows with furrows of care. 
Sinking the soul in the deeps of despair. 

Wishing and striving forever in vain, 
Hearts' noblest impulses crushed back again. 
Fain to bless others, but nothing to give, 
Oh, what rare courage it takes just to live ! 

Wandering, praying, and seeking for light. 
Shrouded in gloom like the darkness of night, 
Sometimes so weary that death seems a friend, 
Struggling still to be true to the end ; 



74 STAR GLEAMS. 

Sometimes enduring the chastening rod, 
Sometimes imploring a merciful God 
To help us to bear it, — to help us to wait, 
And teach us to bow to a merciless fate ! 



Ah, little they know who have never a care, ' 
Whose life-path is smooth and whose life-sky is fair. 
Of the keenly felt torture a brave spirit proud 
Is bearing in silence, 'neath poverty bowed ! 

And little they know of the powers outwrought 
By the praying and striving and conflict of thought ! 
And little they learn in their dead lives, I ween, 
Of the dearly bought wisdom the spirit may glean ! 

Or the richly earned freedom, when over it all — 
O'er the crosses and trials and keenly felt thrall — 
The spirit can rise by a powerful will, 
And bid the rebellious heart sternly be still. 

Work on then, poor toilers, this life is not all : 
Somewhere, in the future, earth's fetters must fall. 
Then, the souls strong and happy in freedom and light 
Will be they who were faithful to truth and to right. 



SING ALL IS WELL. 75 



SING ALL rs WELL. 

Sing all is well, O trusting soul ! 

God is thy refuge near ; 
All life goes on 'neath his control, 

He never fails to hear 
The weakest cry, the feeblest moan, 

The lowliest prayer for aid : 
Who looks to him is ne'er alone, 

Who trusts him ne'er afraid. 

Sing all is well, O steadfast soul ! 

Though fiercer storms speed on. 
Though angry waves in mountains roll, 

And earthly joys are gone. 
Sing all is well, though long the way. 

And dark and cold the night! 
The dreary path will some time end. 

And sure the morning bright. 

Sing all is well ! The watch-tower light 

Gleams on the further shore; 
Across the waste, its radiance bright 

Speaks hope and cheer once more. 
Sing all is well! I catch the notes 

Above the surges' roar : 
•*' A welcome here, O tempest-tossed, 

When life's last storm is o'er ! " 



76 STAR GLEAMS. 

Sing all is well, through time and change ! 

Thoufxh heavier sorrows fall, 
No earthly ills the soul can harm 

That lives above them all. 
Yes, all is Avell, though darkness shroud, 

And songs of gladness cease : 
The light still shines beyond the cloud, 

And jjatience bringeth peace. 



REST. 

How OFT we hear the heart-wrung cry, 
" Oh, give me rest, or else I die ! 
Rest ! dearest boon to weary one. 
E'en death if other rest there's none. 



" I've toiled so long, and toiled in vain ; 
I've sought for pleasure, found but pain: 
I'll drop the conflict, cease the quest. 
And only ask for rest, sweet rest. 

" All hopes and ])lans of mortal birth, 
All idle dreams of honored worth. 
All bright ambitions sought with zest, 
I'll barter here for perfect rest. 



77 



" Too heavy now the burdens fall, 
Too deep the shadows over all : 
I have not strength to work alone, 
Come, death, if other rest there's none." 



Hast ever thought, O weary soul, 
When over thee griefs billows roll. 
When tempests roar and skies are dark. 
And nearly wrecked thy frail life-bark. 

That after this the blessed calm. 
And after this the rest from harm, 
Made sweeter far — this rest in life — ■ 
Because of all the woe and strife ? 



Then, in the tempest's fiercest sway. 
Faint not, but watch and wait and pray ; 
Nor sigh for rest, and rest alone, 
'Twould soon be dull and lifeless grown. 

Oh, after toil how sweet the rest. 
And after grief the joy how blest ! 
Work through the day until its close, 
Then taste the sweetness of repose. 



78 STAR GLEAMS. 



WHAT OF THE NIGHT? 

O LOVED ones, are ye wakeful upon the immortal 

towers, 
Keeping watch and ward, as ever, o'er this troubled 

world of ours ? 
Oh, in the 'wiidering darkness can ye trace a fairer 

sky? 
In our weary night of watching can ye see the 

dawning nigh ? 

Oh, when the cross is crushing, and the heavy 

burdens fall. 
When we cannot see for weeping, and are bound 

in sorrow's thrall. 
When our fettered spirit's anguish makes the joy 

beyond recall. 
Oh, can you see the wisdom and the justice of it 

all? 



Do ye mark the spirit's longing, and the hunger of 

the soul. 
And the cruel chains, whose forging seems beyond 

our own control? 



WHAT OF THE NIGHT? 79' 

O loved ones, are ye near us, with your silent, 

helping power. 
And in pity do ye hear us, when we pray for 

strength each hour? 



O loved ones, are ye waiting, with a patience born 
of love, 

For our glorious reunion in your spirit home above? 

Oh, the rest of that dear haven seemeth to us pass- 
ing fair. 

Where our hearts are often turning, for our 
treasures bright are there. 



O loved ones, we are striving to be faithful and be 

true, 
And to bear the bitter crosses, though the crown 

be not in view. 
We will Avalk the thorny life-path, for 'tis upward 

all the way. 
And the night so long and gloomy must precede 

the welcome day. 



80 STAR GLEAMS. 



THE MASKS WE WEAR. 

Oh, the masks we wear, oh, the griefs we bear, 
Which the world may never know ! 

Wliat a startling sight, should some ray of light, 
Their hidden darkness show ! 

Oh, the masks we wear, oh, the griefs we bear, 

Only God and the angels know : 
They are covered well from all human ken. 

For the true heart wills it so. 

Oh, the masks we wear, oh, the griefs we bear, 

In this strange, conflicting life! 
Ah, none ever guess half the bitterness 

Which sometimes comes in the strife. 

And they think us glad, when we're sick and sad, 
With our sorroAv hidden from view ; 

But the heart grows strong, when it suffers long, 
And silently bears it, too. 

In the purer light of that home so bright. 

Which the angels whisper is near. 
Will the masks we wear be not needed there. 

When we see with vision clear. 



FREEDOM. 32- 



FREEDOM. 

Far, far o'er hills of golden light, 

Where heaven's dews are sparkling bright, 

Where never cometh darksome night. 

There, echoing with a glad refrain, 

O'er mountain, valley, hill, and plain. 

The song of earth's redeemed, — sweet strain. 

Through suffering long, they reached that shore 
Where life's tempestuous scenes are o'er. 
And discord cometh nevermore. 
On earth, they trod a tliorny way. 
Through lonely night and weary day. 
But ne'er forgot to watch and pray. 

Life's sky no longer overcast. 
Their night of gloom and woe is past, 
And morning's sweetly dawned at last. 
Strong hearts, who bravely suffered here, 
Who dared do right and felt no fear. 
But knew their Father ever near. 

Though grief's wild billows, mountain-high, 

Seemed towering till they reached the sky. 

Still prayer and faith were all their cry. 

If darkness shrouded all the light 

In gloom like that of sombre night, 

Still would they catch some glimmer bright, 



82 STAR GLEAMS. 

Nor e'en despair, though left alone, — 
No friendly hand, no cheering tone. 
No heart responsive to their own. 
They suffered long, they murmured not, 
Nor deemed tlieir own too hard a lot. 
They cast aside each worthless thought ; 

For simple truth they only sought; 

And, though on earth their lives were fraught 

With much of woe, it wisdom brought. 

Now, joy and peace with them abound : 

The burden of this life laid down, 

Who bore the cross now wear the crown. 



THE ISLE OF LIGHT. 

I SAW afar, 'mid the gloom of night, 
A lovely spot, an isle of light. 

Begemmed, becrowned, 

And circled round 
With never-fading flowers. 

Enchanted land ! 

An angel-band 
Were flitting through its bowers ; 
While strains of music, rich and rare, 
Were sounding out on the quiet air. 



THE ISLE OF LIGHT. §3 

Methought I cried, in rapture wild, 
" Oh, take me to that fairy isle ! 

No grief, no care. 

Can linger there ; 
The heart can know no sorrow: 

Each happy ray. 

So bright to-day. 
Will linger still to-morrow. 
Oh, let the earthly wanderer come. 
And rest fore'er in that glorious home." 



A voice replied, in gentle tone, 

" I heard thy yearning spirit's moan : 

Thou may'st not come 

To this bright home 
Till earthly labor's o'er. 

Through weary ways 

Come brighter days. 
And toiling nevermore. 
Those earthly ties to thee so dear 
Will bind thy spirit longer here. 



"Thy life's warfare's but just begun; 
And not until the victory's won 
Can this sweet home 
Be all thy own. 
To wander through its bowers. 



61 



STAR GLEAMS. 



If sorrow's night, 
With chilling blight, 
Should cause thee lonely hours, 
Know that thy sure reward shall be 
Eternal life, from sorrow free." 



TO A CHILD AT PLAY. 

Careless, happy childhood 
Always sees the light ; 

Never fearing shadows 
Of a coming night. 



All thy woes are transient. 
All thy troubles brief : 

Just a gift or promise 
Drives away thy grief. 

Well to keep this power 

In the coming years. 
When thy life grows checkered 

With its smiles and tears. 

Hoj^es and fears alternate. 

Gladsome little one : 
Soon enough you'll learn it, 

Life has just begun. 



TO A CHILD AT PLAY. 85 

In the unknown future, 

Now a far-off view, 
Little one, it may be, 

Thou hast much to do. 



Of what there awaits thee, 
Mortal may not tell ; 

But, if true and faithful, 
Thou canst meet it well.. 



If a happy future 

Makes thy pathway glad, 
Don't forget thy brother. 

Sick and lone and sad. 



Should there come a sorrow, 
Bitter, deep, and long. 

Bear it without shrinking : 
It will make thee strong. 



So fulfil thy mission. 

Whatsoe'er it be : 
When thy earth life closeth, 

Anffels wait for thee. 



86 STAR GLEAMS. 



LIGHT IN DARKNESS. 

Cold and chilling the winter winds blow, 
Cheerless the earth 'neath its mantle of snow,- 
Snow so spotless o'er hill and jilain, 
Hiding alike each beauty and stain. 

Oh, the snows were heavy just like to-night, 
When out of my life went all the light ; 
And their chilling weight rose high above 
The mortal of all my heart could love. 

My sun is set : it is night, dark night ; 
With never a ray of blessed light 
To banish the gloom from my shrouded soul, 
And bid the grief waves to their fountain roll. 

Ah, winters will come, and winters will go, 
Bitter with cold and freighted with snow ; 
And I can catch but the one sad tone, — 
My loved one is gone, and I am alone. 

Gone, gone, and left me to mourn ; 
Gone, gone, no more to return. 
Was ever a word so mournfully drear ? 
Was ever a sound so sad to hear? 



LIGHT IN DARKNESS. 87 

And yet I repeat it oft and alone ; 
And the winds but echo that sad word "gone." 
I hear it low when the zephyrs are mild, 
And loud when the tempest rages wild. 

And ocean chants it in measured sound, 
Where its billows dash with a mad rebound, 
Where it laves the rocks with foaming spray, 
Or where its waters in quiet lay. 

Ever the same, and all things tell 
But the word whose meaning I know so well; 
For Nature, quiet or stormy and wild. 
Speaks only grief to her lonely child. 

Oh, is there- nothing beyond the grave? 
Are there none to pity me, none to save ? 
For the woe so heavy, so hard to bear. 
It hath brought me down to dark despair. 

Cease, sad heart, thy plaintive moan. 
Thou art never left alone : 
Chastened one, thy Father knows 
All thy pleadings, all thy woes. 

Though the way so dark hath grown. 
Thou art still God's sheltered own. 
Look beyond thy chill despair, 
See thy treasure safe and fair, 



88 STAR GLEAMS. 

Waiting there with wondrous love, 
Life, immortal life, to prove : 
Just across the river Time, 
You shall meet with joy sublime. 



''NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE." 

"Words often spoken, lightly sung, 

Yet with a meaning deeper far 
Than can be told by pen or tongue. 

Though both are Avondrous skilled and rare. 

Only tlie spirit, strong yet meek. 
Catches the watchword in the tone; 

Only the soul that hears God speak, ' 
And knows he claims it for his own. 

"Nearer, my God, to thee." The way 
Hath many a lesson hard to learn : 

No surface thoughts, no pleasures gay. 
Can gild the pathway, true but stern. 

" Nearer, my God." In that vast thought. 
The strength of ages slumbers deep: 

The soul's best j^owers are there inwrought; 
And God's own hand that soul shall keep. 



BLESSED TEARS. 89- 



BLESSED TEARS. 

WKITTEN BY REQUEST. 

Blessed tears, the heart's relief 
In our lonely hours of grief, 
Silent emblems of our woe. 
Let them fast and freely flow. 

Blessed tears, when heart and brain 
Seek for rest and light in vain ; 
When dumb grief with cruel hands 
Presses hard, like iron bands, 

Till the soul is faint and torn. 
And the mortal weak and worn. 
Till, 'mid shadows deepei- grown. 
We can only sigh and moan, — 

Then, what rest, what sweet relief 
Blessed tears will give our grief! 
How they cool the burning brain, 
How they quiet torturing pain ! 

Blessed tears, when angry pride. 
With its fiercely swelling tide. 
Stings to madness, prompts to hate, 
Whispers of some darker fate ; 



90 STAR GLEAMS. 

When it sings, "Revenge is sweet" 
(Burning words, with sin replete), 
Till the brave soul, light all gone, 
Wounded nigh to death, lights on, — 

Then let floods of blessed tears 
Sweep away the wicked fears. 
Then let tears the anger drown, 
Then let tears keep hatred down. 

Blessed tears, o'er sorrow's thrall, 
Like baptismal dews they fall. 
Looking still to God in prayer. 
Life's hard crosses we may bear, 

But the tears, the blessed tears 
Oft must flow, through weary years; 
Oft relieve the aching heart. 
Oft in sympathy will start. 

Will God wipe them all away 
In that world of perfect day? 
We can trust him, for he saith, 
No more pain and no more death ; 

No more crying over there, 
No more sorrow or despair ; 
No more night, but endless day, — 
" Former things are passed away." 



AN OCEAN IDYL. 91 



AN OCEAN IDYL. 

I WANDERED OH the seashore, 

Where the sands were white as snow; 
And I watched the laughing waters 

In their ceaseless ebb and flow. 

I wandered on the seashore, 

Where the breakers dash and moan ; 
And the soul of many waters 

Spoke ever to my own. 

For I heard a thousand voices 

In the rhythm and the roar 
Of the surging, foaming billows 

On the rough and rocky shore. 



I wandered on the seashore. 

Where the sea-weed clinging grows. 
Just below the shining pebbles. 

When the strong tide outward flows. 

I wandered on the seashore. 

The towering cliffs beside, 
That battled with the ages. 

And storm and flood defied. 



92 STAR GLEAMS. 

They stood like stern old warriors, 
Or sentry, grim and true ; 

And, looking ever seaward. 
No change of time they knew. 

I walked upon the seashore 
At morning, noon, and night ; 

When storms were darkly lowering, 
In sunshine calm and bright. 

And, everywhere I wandered, 
Spoke Nature, o'er and o'er, 

Of God's own matchless power 
And wisdom evermore. 



DARKNESS. 

Oh, wail, wild winds ! 

Sing a dirge sad and low, 
Like a lost spirit's chant. 

For my soul is filled with woe. 

Oh, dark shades gather, 
' And darker make the night ! 
The shadow resteth on me. 
And there's no gleam of light. 



DARKNESS. 93 

Oil, rush, mad waters, 

With deep, surging roar, 
And toss in angry billows 

High on the rock-lined shore ! 

Oh, break, mighty tempest. 

And sway the giant trees ; 
Bend low their stately heads 

To the white, foaming seas ! 

I love warring Nature, 

So well it dotli compare 
With the feelings of my heart 

And the storm raging there. 

The sunlight would mock me 

And smile at my woe. 
While the deep waves of grief 

All my soul overflow. 

I will face the shadow grim, 

I will meet the storm alone. 
No voice could bring relief. 

No spirit soothe my own. 

But as all things here 

Bear the impress of decay, • 

So alike on all is Avritten, 

"T/m", too^ shall pass aioayP 



94 STAR GLEAMS. 



BRIGHT BEYOND. 

When the sea of life grows troubled, 
'Neath a dark and frowning sky, 
And its waters seem to mock us 
As they dash in madness by, 
And the roar of angry surges 
To our piteous cries respond, 
Still we find one ray of comfort, 
It is bright, all bright beyond ; 

When the tempest shrouds the sunshine. 
And the way looks dark and drear, — 
Firmly tread thy path, my brother. 
Harbor not a doubt nor fear. 
For as sure as God lives ever. 
And his love and mercy, fond, 
Blesseth earth and fadeth never. 
It is bright, all bright beyond. 

When thy heart grows sad, my brother, 
With the weight of giant wrong ; 
And thy spirit cries in anguish, 
" O thou righteous God, how long 
Shall this woe with might oppress us, 
And the wicked rule go on ?" — 
Cheer up, tried but noble spirit : 
It is all bright, all bright beyond. 



MEMORIAL POEMS. 95 

If through cold and bitter scorning, 
Sister, faints thy loving soul ; 
And the sway of cruel passion 
Seeks, with tempting arts, control, 
Pause, ere yet amid the breakers 
All thy hope and truth are gone : 
There's a future, purer, higher. 
And 'tis bright, all bright beyond. 

Hath the light of life been shadowed 
By grief's dark and sombre wing ; 
And that strange, sad sense of parting, 
Such as only death can bring? 
Know thy loved in soul are near thee : 
Only dust to dust hath gone. 
Still they smile in loving mem'ry : 
It is bright, all bright beyond. 



THERE IS NO DEATH. 

Just as the dawn was breaking 

Over the eastern skies, 
Earth from her slumbers awaking, 

Bidding her toilers arise, 

A freed soul sped from its prison 

Into the glorious light, 
Out from the evening shadows 

Into the morning bright. 



:96 STAR GLEAMS. 

Life had been cold and dreary, 
Shadows so often and deep : 

Spirit so storm-tossed and weary, 
Oh, how she welcomed the sleep, — 

The sleep that knows never a waking, 
On earth, to the mortal eye ! 

So sweet to hearts that are breaking, 
The sleep which they call — to die. 

Only the hope of its coming 
Shone like a beacon light, 

Over the way of the mourner, 
All through the lonely night. 

Only the glad hope of freedom, 
Somewhere, from toiling and woe. 

Gave to the weak steps their courage 
Faithfully onward to go. 

Only the hope of a future. 

Unchained by a merciless fate, 

Gave to the sad spirit courage 
To bear all its trials, and — wait. 

Call this a death ? Oh, never ! 

Only a happy release 
From darkness and sorrow and discord 

To sunshine and pleasure and peace. 



GOD UNDERSTANDS. 97 



GOD UNDERSTANDS. 

I HAVE seen the whitened liair and the deeply fur- 
rowed brow; 

And the sorrow's impress then stood clearly written 
now. 

I have marked the lines of anguish time could not 
banish hence. 

God of all the faithful, where is the recompense ? 

1 have seen how souls in prison struggled through 

a restless life, 
Faithful to their lofty purpose 'mid the wildest of 

the strife. 
I have seen how starving spirits cried in vain for 

human love ; 
And their lonely, yearning pleadings are only known 

above. 

I have seen hoAV cruel mandates have stung the 

spirits proud, 
Till they writhed in silent anguish, and beneath the 

torture bowed; 
Yet they bore the awful burden in the fiercest heat 

of day. 
O God of all the martyrs, what recompense have 

they? 



90 STAR GLEAMS. 

I have seen the weary jDilgrims toiling, fainting all 

the way, 
Watching through the night of darkness for the 

claAvn of perfect day: 
Death in life their bitter portion, all their hopes 

too quickly passed. 
O God of all the heroes, what gift is theirs at last? 

Gently now the answer cometh, and I catch the 

sweet refrain, 
"Far down the length of ages, not a life has been 

in vain : 
They are saved, ah ! saved forever, souls who to the 

end endure." 
O God, our God of justice, thy recompense is sure. 



GETHSEMANE. 

Depth of anguish ! Avell I know 
iHow its waves the soul o'erflow ; 
How, with blinding pain inwrought. 
Comes each lonely, bitter thought. 

Depth of anguish! God alone 
Hears the weary spirit's moan ; 
Pitying, hears it mournfully 
Pleading, pleading to be free. 



GETHSEMAXE. 99 



Depth ot anguisli ! can it bring 
Strength for all the suffering? 
Can the heavy, chastening rod 
Brino^ us nearer still to God ? 



Will the trying flood and fire 
Give more wisdom, lead us higher? 
Could we not the grand heights gain 
Only through such cruel pain? 

Depth of anguish ! hard to bear, 
Bringeth peace, through trust and prayer. 
If the Father had not led. 
We might well be crushed instead. 



Depth of anguish Christ endured, 
All temptation's arts withstood ; 
In the lonely midnight hour 
Proved his mighty spirit's power. 

Depth of anguish, — speak it low; 
Calm the tempest of thy woe ; 
Hear a voice say : " Peace, be still. 
Soul, rebel not :* 'tis His will." 



100 STAR GLEAMS. 



A THOUGHT. 

I AJkf drifting on down the stream of Time, 
Whose waters flow in a ceaseless rhyme, 

Till they reach Eternity's sea. 
I sit alone in my life-bark, too ; 
But all around me dear friends 1 view, 

Who are drifting on with me. 

I never go back, but steadily on. 
As countless ones before have gone 

In their voyage to that strange sea. 
But mortal vision is seldom clear. 
And none can tell whether far or near 

Will be seen Eternity. 

And shifting hues, now light, now dark, 
I catch as I glide in my fragile bark 

Adown the stream of Time ; 
But ever I know I am drifting on 
To the strange unseen that lies beyond 

The earthly river and clime. 

Sometimes, the waters are soft and low. 
And sing sweet music, in onward flow, 

As I glide adown the stream ; 
And the air is balmy and soft and bright. 
And the earth seems bathed in a wondrous light 

From the day-god's glowing gleam. 



A THOUGHT. IQl 

Anon, the clouds come darkeningr o'er. 
And the waters sound Avith a fearful roar, 

As they madly rush along; 
And foaming breakers rise mountain-high, 
While the angry billows, dashing by, 

Sing a mournful, surging song. 

Then, shrouded in tempest and blinded by spray, 
I can only dimly see my way; 

And I shrink from the chilly blast. 
But the waters, though fierce, cannot overwhelm. 
So I patiently wait, and toil at my helm ; 

For I know I shall rest at last. 

Then welcome the sunshine, calm and clear; 
And welcome the tempest, dark and drear, 

For I'm drifting steadily on. 
And though sunshine glimmer and darkness shroud, 
And there's only a rift in the gloomy cloud. 

There are light and rest beyond. 



Some time, the shadows of Death's dark night 
Will shut me out from my loved ones' sight. 

And they'll weep as I glide away ; 
But I shall know sorrow and darkness no more, 
And I'll wait and watch till I welcome them o'er 

To the light of an endless day. 



102 STAR GLEAMS. 



TO A DYING FRIEND. 

Whein- the way grows dark and dreary, 

When the shadows fall so deep 
That the spirit, sad and Aveary, 

Fearful, sees tlie towering steep ; 
When the tired hands pause in toiling, 

And the tired heart calls for rest, — 
How we look beyond the mortal 

To the world we deem so blest ! 

How we grasp the blessed promise 

Of a mansion " over there " ! 
How we think of sweet reunion 

In the spirit's home most fair; 
In that land of the eternal. 

Where the human conflicts cease ; 
Where, instead of restless turmoil. 

Dwells the holy calm of peace, 

AVhat, amid our hopes and fancies. 

Brings the dearest thought of bliss? 
What can be the crowning glory 

Of that fair world over this ? 
Might we find it in some token 

Of a friendship, pure and true. 
Which on earth was hardly spoken. 

Or was lost to mortal view? 



TO A DYING FRIEND. 103 

Thoughts too sacred to he uttered 

Here may lose their power for good, 
And tlie best of human motives 

Are but dimly understood. 
Here, we lose each cherished treasure ; 

Here, we grieve, and grieve in vain ; 
Here, we seek and strive for j>leasure. 

And we gather only pain. 

But beyond the clouds and tempest, 

And the weary earthly thrall, 
Where the light of God's own justice 

Shines more clearly over all, 
We may speak a higher language, 

We may gain a clearer siglit. 
Then^ the hearts that best have loved us 

Will be ours by sacred right. 

Face to face, — no longer darkly, 
No more dim, no more obscure. 

No distrust, no doubting shadows 
O'er that spirit friendship pure. 

Face to face, dear heart, remember, 

As you journey heavenward : 
Souls who understand each othe 

Cannot lose iheir higli regard 

And the mystic tie, unbroken, 
Finer, stronger, will have grown. 

God be thanked for this, the token, — 
" We shall know as we are known." 



104 STAR GLEAMS. 



SONG OF MIDNIGHT. 

Oh, desolate, dreary twilight, 
With sobbing gusts of rain; 

With lowering, misty shadows 
Mantling each hill and plain ! 

Dark trees and massive ledges ; 

And, beyond, the wide, cold sea ; 
Sad winds, in mournful whisperings, 

Sing a dirge-like song to me. 

Oh, wild, temi)estuous midnight, 
With breakers on the lea ! 

God pity the brave, bold sailors 
In their frail ships out at sea. 

Oh, i)ity the hardy fishermen 
Afar on the treacherous deep ! 

And pity the wives and mothers. 
Who watch and Avait and weep. 

Oh, desolate, dreary midnight. 

With elfins Avild about ! 
When snow and hail and tempest 

And wintry winds are out. 



SONG OF MIDNIGHT. 105 

God pity the homeless wanderer 

Oat in the darksome night; 
Afar from a word of welcome 

Or friendly, cheering light. 

For human hearts are more pitiless, 
Sometimes, than the fiercest storm; 

And the starving soul seeks vainly 
For a greeting kind and warm. 

Oh, desolate, dreary midnight. 

The storm-king reigneth now ! 
Ocean and air and forest 

Before his mandate bow. 

And the soul of mortal listeneth 
To the tones of a mighty power; 

And the voices of mirth and lightness 
Are hushed in the solemn hour. 

Oh, desolate, dreary midnight ! 

I love thy wild, weird strife ; 
For my soul is vexed with the pleasures 

And foolish things of life. 

And the voices of warring nature 

Speak with a dee2:)er power, 
Speak with a higher grandeur 

In the awsome, midnicrht hour. 



106 STAR GLEAMS. 

The chant of the wind and tempest 
Is as lofty and as grand 

As the swelling tones of an organ 
When touched by a skilful hand. 

For we know the stormiest seasons 
Are woke by a master-hand, 

And the wildest tempest raging 
Awaiteth his wise command. 

Oh, desolate, dreary midnight 
Of the soul, in grief and pain ! 

Sure, after the lonely waiting, 
The sunlight cometh again. 

O watchers sad in the midnight, 
Fear not, the Father guides ! 

He knoweth all, his strength is sure, 
Whatever fate betides. 



LAUS DEO. 



LAUS DEO. 



107 



Low DOWN in sorrow's deep, 

Helpless I lie : 
I hear the rush and sweep 

Of tempest nigh. 
Storm, wreck, and discord wild 

Jar on each sense. 
I, like a weary child, 

Make no defence. 
Conflicts are fierce and long. 

Hard seems the fate. 

spirit, he thou strong 
Calmly to wait. 

Mad billows onward roll, 

I fear you not. 
Break o'er my lonely soul : 

Prayer strength hath brought. 
Thick though the darkness fall, 

I shall not fear. 

1 can endure it all, 
M^ God is near. 

Far through the mist and tears, 

Dimly I see 
Where in the future years 

Rest waits for me. 
This earth-life is not all, — 

Real life's beyond. 



108 STAR GLEAMS. 

When the last shadows fall, 

I shall live on, — 
On through the ages grand, 

Countless, untold, 
Where, 'neath God's mighty hand,, 

New truths unfold. 

O faith, thou angel friend ! 

Prayer, blessed boon, — 
Go with me to the end. 

Lo, it Cometh soon. 



ALL IS WELL. 

The night was dark, the storm was loud. 
My soul in lielpless anguish bowed. 
The deepest gloom around me fell. 
When something whispered, '-''All is well/^^ 

O aching heart, O tired brain. 
Searching life's mysteries in vain. 
Thy vexing thoughts and fears dispel. 
And catch the watchword, " All is well." 

Hold fast the promise, clasp it close, 
A talisman 'gainst earthly woes ; 
And oft in voiceless language tell 
Thyself, sad spirit, " All is Avell ! " . 



victory: 109 



VICTORY. 

After each conflict of life, intense 
Till the wearied soul makes no defence, 
After the rush and wild alarm, 
Cometh the perfect rest and calm. 

After the sombre shades of night 
Cometh the welcome morning light ; 
After the saddest notes of pain 
Cometh a higher, sweeter strain. 

After the agony all unknown, 
After the desolate grief alone. 
After each battle so nobly fought. 
After each duty faithfully wrought, 

Cometh a strength steadfast and sure, 
Cometh a peace which shall endure. 
After the cross so patiently borne 
Waiteth a crown to be royally worn. 

After the dearest joys are fled. 
After the sweetest hopes are dead. 
Counting our treasures all above, 
Cometh a richer gift, — God's love. 



110 STAR GLEAMS. 

After the hurry and turmoil of life, 
After its chaos and noisy strife, 
Cometh a silence, long and deep ; 
After all waiting and watching, sleep. 

Sleep for the mortal, but for the soul 
Freedom, glad freedom, while ages roll ; 
Sleep for the mortal, weary of all. 
Life for the spirit, free from its thrall. 

After the heart-cry, strong to dare ; 
After the earnest, pleading ])rayer, 
Cometh the trust, — in God's own time ; 
Cometh a saving faith, sublime. 

Hope, sweet messenger always fair, 
Shieldeth the soul from chill despair : 
Be it storm or sunshine, toil or rest, 
He who loveth us knoweth best. 



VOICES IN THE STORM. Ill 



VOICES IN THE STORM. 

In the midnight wild and eerie, 

When the winds are loud and high ; 

When the sky is black and dreary, 
And the storm goes sweeping by, 

Listen to the mingled chanting 

Of the voices in the storm. 
Listen to them, by the shelter 

Of your fireside bright and warm. 

Or upon your couch so restful. 

With no boding ill or pain. 
Listen, while the voices whisper 

In a sweetly mournful strain : 

" Life is brief, and fast departing : 
Backward glance, O soul, and see 

If the good deeds planned at starting 
Have been nobly wrought by thee. 

" Where are those who bravely ventured, 

In life's morning all untried ? 
They have vanished into silence, 

Strangely vanished from thy side. 



112 STAR GLEAMS. 

" They were summoned, thou hast lingered, 

With a work to do on earth. 
Hast thou well fulfilled thy mission ? 

Hast thou realized its worth ? " 



Like an army all unbidden, 

Thous^hts come crowdinoj thick and fast. 
Still, the voices kindly whisper : 

" Sigh not o'er the vanished past. 

" Let no doubtings or misgivings 
Cloud thy mind or stay thy hand : 

Life is full of earnest striving, 
Heed thou only God's command. 

" Dream-like past and misty future 
Leave to mem'ry and to trust : 

To the real and living p7^ese7it 
Be thou faithful, be thou just." 

Still, the echo of tliose voices. 
Borne upon the wailing blast, 

Lingers with a haunting power. 
Even though the storm has passed. 



LOCK THE CHAMBEE OF THY HEAKT. 113 



LOCK THE CHAMBER OF THY HEART, 

Lock the chamber of thy heart, 
Where memories sad repose. 

Hold them sacredly apart, 

With conquered griefs and woes. 

In still solitude, alone 

With God who patient hears. 

Thou may'st weep, with prayer bemoan 
Thy weak distrust and fears. 

But make secure this inner room, 

Whene'er thou goest out. 
Let no shadow of its gloom 

Follow, with chill and doubt. 

Lock the door ; hold fast the key ; 

Dumb, let thy sorrow rest : 
Strength shall crown thy loyalty, 

And other lives be blest. 



114 STAR GLEAMS. 



THE SUNSHINE MAKES THE SHADOWS. 

*"Tis the sunshine itself that makes the shadows." 

'Tis the sunshine makes the shadows, 
But the substance must be there : 

On a pLain bereft of objects 
Would be only noon-day glare. 

'Tis the sunshine makes the shadows ; 

But, before the orb of day. 
Solid form of rock or postern 

Intercepts his burning ray. 

Yes, the sunshine makes the shadow, 
Where the tall trees, rising grand, 

Spread abroad their leafy branches, 
To refresh and cool the land. 

And the traveller, faint and heated, 
Finds his M-eary footsteps stayed. 

Cools his brow, and rests him briefly 
In the welcome spot of shade. 

Oh, ye sad hearts 'mong the shadows. 
Who have found the sunshine rare. 

And have groped along life's pathway, 
'Mid the days more dark than fair. 



THE sunshinp: makes the shadows. 115 

'Tis the sunshine makes the shadows, 

Let this truth live everywhere : 
Look beyond your wall of doubting, 

For the sun is shining there. 



Earth was not designed all sunlight ; 

Brightest gifts are not the best ; 
Storm and tempest have their mission ; 

Night and darkness give us rest. 

Li the shadows and the darkness, 
When we cannot see our way : 

We must walk by faith and trusting, 
As we might not in fair day. 



Brightest sunlight, darkest shadows : 
Dim lights cast no shadows deep. 

Is the valley lone and narrow ? 
Then, the hill is high and steep. 

Welcome valleys dark with shadows, 
Since God's mountains tower so grand ; 

And the way leads ever upward, 
Underneath his guiding hand. 



116 STAR GLEAMS. 



THE PATIENCE OF HOPE. 

I SAW a 23ilgrim on life's highway 

Toiling still bravely on, 
Though drooping shadows were cold and gray, 

And all the sunshine gone. 



Though feet were weary, and heart grew faint, 

So long had been the road. 
The deathless spirit made no complaint, 

'Neath the chastening of its God. 



I saw one burdened with many cares. 

Bearing the cross alone, 
So true and steadfast he never dares 

To make his suffering known, 

Lest haply a word of censuring blight 

Might harm a weaker soul, 
Who, feebly reaching toward the light, 

Needs help to self-control. 

I saw again (oh ! bitter fate) 

One meeting a mighty test, 
With an anguish deep, and conflict great, 

To obey the soul's behest. 



THE PATIENCE OF HOPE. 117 

The world went by in hurrying mood. 

Like a rock at full flood-tide, 
The brave soul stood, in its solitude : 

It had only God beside. 



I saw another who, patient, wrought 
On a skilful task, perplexed, — 

For silken threads seemed a hopeless knot,- 
Till heart and brain were vexed. 



But she said, " I will try with steady hand, 

And heart from passion free. 
If I keep me calm in self-command, 

The snarl must yield to me." 



Then, one by one, the threads unwound, 

Glistening beneath the sun : 
Toil lighter grew, as days went round, 

Till the fairy work was done. 



O tangled threads in this vexing life. 

So cruel a knot and fast ! 
We may one by one, in patient strife. 

Unwind them all at last. 



118 STAB GLEAMS. 



GIVE TO ME MY OWN. 

Blue-eyed little maiden, with no heart for play, 
Sweet face sad and tearful, came to me one day. 
" Lovely little fairy, what has grieved you so ? " 
Mournful voice made answer, brokenly and low : 

"Lost my pretty kitty : never see her more. 
Big dog came in growling: she went out the door." 
" Find another kitty. There are many more." 
Blue eyes, opening wider, looked me o'er and o'er. 

" 'T wouldn't be my kitty," with indignant tone. 
" Don't want other kitty. No : I want my own." 
Faithful little mourner, just like all the rest, 
Wants its own to treasure, loves its own the best. 

Many a heart that's wiser makes its plaintive moan, 
Oh, from out the millions, give to me my own! 
Many a soul, bewildered, struggles on alone ; 
'Mid life's wild confusion, cannot find its own. 



life's voyage. 119 



LIFE'S VOYAGE. 

In our single ships or a glittering fleet, 

Voyagers brave are we, 
Wafted by breezes rough or sweet 

Over life's solemn sea. 

Broad and wide is our ocean free, 

Grandly its billows roll. 
Many a mariner strong we see. 

And many a weaker soul. 

With a brief, glad " Hail ! " we meet and pass, 

Then drift and drift away ; 
For the ceaseless waves move onward fast. 

We linger, but cannot stay. 

Though friends sail outward so distant far, 
The cheering "Hail! " must cease. 

If we shape our course by the Guiding Star, 
We shall meet in the port of jjeace. 



120 STAK GLEAMS. 



THE EVIDENCE. 

He wlio walks within the valley. 

Scorning every call of duty. 
Cannot view the plains extended 

In their wondrous, varied beauty. 

If to him such narrow pathway 

Makes all life seem vain and dreary,. 

Let him not give erring counsel 
To the seeking ])ilgrini, weary. 

He should never doubt the vision 

Of the seer on the mountain. 
He should not deride the wisdom 

Of the learner at truth's fountain. 

Let the brave and faithful toiler, 

Who obeyed the call, " Come higher ! "" 

And has gained the well-earned summit 
Which o'erlooks his soul's desire, 

Who can see o'er mist and shadow, — 
Let him tell the cheery story, 

How beyond this transient earth-life 
Lies the real, immortal glory. 

Not the sad and morbid fancies 
Of our gloomy, doubting hours, 

But the rapt, exalted moments, 
Tell the soul's undying powers. 



BY FAITH. 12l! 



BY FAITH. 

I LEAVE the burdens of my life 
And all the weariness and strife 
With Him who orders all my ways, 
And knows the limit of my days ; 
And so I rest. 

God sent me here with purpose true, 
My ignorance and weakness knew ; 
And, whether light or darkness fall, 
His tender love is over all, 
And it is best. 

Full oft I stumble as I go, 
And tears of sorrow quickly flow ; 
But He to whom my grief is known 
Leaves me not long to weep alone, 
He sendeth peace. 

I cannot reach my life's ideal, 
It towers far above the real ; 
But, when I think of countless years 
Of future life in unknown spheres, 
My murmurings cease. 



122 STAB GLEAMS. 



WE SHALL NOT PASS THIS WAY AGAIN. 

"Whence came and whither bound are we?" 
Holds something still of mystery ; 
But one grave thought is clear and plain, 
We shall not pass this way again. 

Why waste an hour in vain regret 
For common ills that must be met ? 
Why of the thorny road complain ? 
We shall not pass this way again. 

Why wound, or cause a tear to start ? 
Why vex or trouble one poor heart ? 
Each hath its secret grief or care. 
Its burden that thou canst not share. 

The years glide by : stand strong and true. 
The good thou canst, oh, quickly do ! 
Let gentle words soothe woe and pain, 
We shall not j^ass this way again. 



WHAT IF? 123 



WHAT IF? 



We sometimes moan at the weight of care 

Which will never let ns free, 
When we long so much to do and dare 

In the broader fields we see. 

And the days and years keep gliding by, 

Whether dark or dull or fair, 
And give no heed to our piteous cry, 

"It is hard, so hard to bear, — 

*'To see, like a shadowy host, pass by 

The possible things of fate. 
With only a glimmer of comfort nigh. 

And that hardest of tasks, — to wait." 

What if the work we are sighing to do 

Is lying about us now ? 
What if the edict, both wise and true. 

Be this. To the present bow ? 

What if the mists of longing and tears 
From our troubled gaze could fall, 

And we should see that these pain-marked years 
Were valued the most of all ? 

What if God's j^urposes are fulfilled 

In the dreary and barren now f 
What if the garland his love has willed 

Be pressing thy ])atient brow ? 



124 STAIl GLEAMS. 



What if the mysteries God can keep 

So hidden from mortal view 
Be surety and strength for souls that weep. 

To carry them safely through? 



NATURE'S REST. 

Deep in the heart of the forest, 
Where the cool, dim shadows lie 

And the sweetest breath of summer 
Floats softly, dreamily l)y. 

Or rises in dusky murmurs 
To the tall pines overhead, 

And sways the tender blossoms 
On their lowly, mossy bed, 

How the roar of passion dieth, 
And the surging tumults cease ; 

While the soul is bathed and flooded 
With the calm of infinite peace ! 

O marvellous heart of Nature, 

Sheltering, restful, sweet. 
Thou hast God's own power to quiet. 

In this blessed, still retreat ! 



THE CROSS. 125 



THE CROSS. 



<' Take up thy cross, and follow me," — 
Words from our Master's lij^s that fell : 

How many all their meaning see ? 
How many know their import well? 

Is it to speak in pilblic j^laee 

Or name him oft in public prayer 

Or tell, in set and studied phrase, 

Of how we found him, when, and where ? 

That were, indeed, a lighter cross 
Than many a soul hath known, — 

Who learns that gain comes after loss, 
And how God calls his own ; 

Who knows of dark Gethsemanes 

Kone other understands ; 
The thorny crown who plainly sees. 

And feels the bleeding hands ; 

Who, praying oft at midnight hour 
(No friend who watcheth still), 

Comes face to face with God's own jDOwer, 
And meets his sovereign will ; 

Who even seeing Calvary's steep, — 

With earthly hope all gone, — 
Looks up, through tears and anguish deep, 

And, trusting, cries, " Lead on ! " 



12ft STAK GLEAMS. 



The cross of Christ is borne alone ; 

And what that cross may be, 
How hard, how stern, is only known, 

My friend, to God and thee. 



THE INNER LIFE. 

O wo:s^DROus life within the life 

Which mortals daily scan ! 
Unknowing this, how can we judge 

Our wayward brother man ? 

The subtle self-hood, all our own, 

No words can quite reveal ; 
And evermore we fail to teach 

The finest thoughts we feel. 

Between the closest human ties 

Hangs still the shadowy screen, 
Though love sends through its radiant glance, 

And shining faith is seen. 

"While sweet communion, friend with friend, 

Lights up the years that roll, 
God's sacred gift still waits apart, — 

The innermost of soul. 



.'^^':^'^il 






•-^liiitoi^liluiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiLTitai^ 



